1. “Uranium mine tailings are among the most difficult to manage wastes
on the planet… They contain toxic substances, particularly heavy metals.
About 85 per cent of the radionucleides from the ore end up in the tailings,
so it's radioactive. They're typically acidic and semi liquid and hard to contain. … In
the Maritimes, because you'd be dealing with relatively low-grade ore, you'd
tend to produce more tailings per tonne of ore."Mark Winfield, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, York University,
Toronto.

3. Once groundwater is contaminated from uranium mine tailings, is impossible
to undo the damage. 1% of wells in NS already contain levels of uranium above
the limits considered safe, from naturally occurring uranium in rock.

5. Surface mines can generate up to 40 tonnes of waste rock for every tonne
of uranium ore produced, while underground mines produce about one tonne of
waste rock per tonne of ore. There are 109 million tonnes of waste rock from
uranium mining in Canada today. Pembina Institute: Uranium Mining: Nuclear Power’s Dirty Secret,
May 2007

6. Supplying a typical Canadian household with nuclear-generated electricity
results in the production of 14kg of toxic and radioactive mine tailings and
up to 440 kg of waste rock every year. These wastes continue to release radioactive
elements for thousands of years. Pembina Institute

7. “Whether or not [uranium] mining is conducted in open pits or underground,
there are environmental health hazards and impacts to workers and the general
public that need to be considered. These include radiation hazards from radon
gas, radium, thorium, and non-radioactive contamination from dust and heavy
metals such as arsenic, lead, and nickel.” Health Canada, Environment and workplace health. Canadian Handbook on Health
Impact Assessment. Volume 4, Chapter 5.4 Uranium Mining. http://hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt.

8. Radiation is one of the few exposures for which the cause-effect relationship
with childhood leukemia has been established (Belson et al. 2007). Children
are 20% more sensitive to radioactivity because their cells are actively dividing.

9. Residents living near uranium mining operations have a higher risk of genetic
damage than people living further away. Au et al 1998